Joint US-Japan Intervention Drives Yen Surge

A sudden yen surge against the dollar was triggered by suspected joint intervention from the Japanese and US governments, according to a report by Nikkei.

The dollar-yen rate plummeted to as low as 157.80 yen per dollar after the Bank of Japan intervened with yen buying and dollar selling, marking an unusual move given that U.S. monetary authorities had just conducted a rate check.

This rate check is typically a step taken before market intervention, where authorities ask major banks about foreign-exchange trading conditions ahead of any action.

The simultaneous market action by the US and Japanese governments appears to have been timed to maximize the impact of their intervention, with the dollar weakening after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged.